senatorchuckhagel. wewant to welcome to the table two experts. did his nomination surprise you? >> it did not. he spent keeping himself on tainted and logging and other kinds of things. when you look at the transition from leon panetta and asking what kind of person you would have in their, eventually to deal with what will be a shrinking defense budget, i think chuck hagel seemed a very obvious choice. i basically thought that is where the president was going to go early on. host: this is a the news from "the new york times". the war and against hagel and republicans called him in the piecer based on what he said in iraq. he voted for the war but turned against it. easer sings very strong. guest: he voted for it and then had criticism of how it was being carried out. when you talk about the secretary defense, the most important thing that happened during the war is the surge. he voted against the surge. he called the worst mistake since vietnam. we know in terms of the military, strategy and the search worked. it was very successful. when you're talking about putting somebody in the

gathering. the next hour, two more cabinet nominees will be named. formersenatorchuckhagelfordefense secretary and homeland security adviser john brennan for cia director. he has already picked senator john kerry as his nominee for secretary of state. president's choice, chuck hagel for defense secretary already coming under some fire. some republicans point to comments that hagel made back in 2007, that they perceive as anti-jewish. here is how south carolina lindsey graham described the decision to nominate hagel. >> this is an in-your-face nomination by the president to all of us who are supportive of israel. i don't know what his management experience is regarding the pentagon. little, if any. i think it's an incredibly controversial choice. and it looks like the second term of barack obama is going to be an in-your-face term. >> want to bring in our white house correspondent brianna keilar. we no that the white house has been calling out, trying to reach senators and get some support for hagel here. we're also hearing from jim acosta, trying to push back on this idea tha

two purple hearts. but quitefranklychuckhagelisout of the mainstream by thinking i believe on most issues regarding foreign policy. >> out of the mainstream. is that how he is regarded in washington, d.c.? >> well, i don't want to get into a debate with lindsey who i happen to be a huge fan of. i think he's one of the strongest members of the senate. but the president has chosen chuck hagel or is, i guess, going to choose chuck hagel. and chuck hagel isn't going to be working for himself. he's not going to be freelancing as a senator as he was when he made these misstatements which i suspect have upset senator graham and other members of the senate who might be concerned about some of the things he said in the past. he'll be working for the president. when working for the president you follow the president's policies. i don't see this prior statement as being -- first off, they may -- they may have been wrong. he may have made some statements which were inappropriate, as he did. but everybody does, i guess. and now he's going to be working for the president. and carrying the p

mean, in a very -- he and --look,chuckhagelwasprobably not the first choice of a lot of folks inside the west wing. there's some questions. can he manage a bureaucracy of his size? how many people are qualified to manage a bureaucracy the size of the defense department? he set that question aside. this is -- this was the president's choice, first choice, and obviously this very close relationship with john brennan, trying to give sort of the cia its mojo back, if you will, in the intelligence community, and i think that that's something that brennan -- that some folks in the intel community i think are hoping brennan does. let's also not forget that, you know, with brennan and hagel going up at the same time, andrea, any questions that there might have been on brennan when it came to torture and the interrogation, that all goes away because i think all the focus is going to be on hagel. >> now, michael lighter, chuck todd has been reporting that dennis mcdonough is a lock for chief of staff to preplace jack lou when lou is nominated, we expect, to become treasury secretary, an

>>andchuckhagelandjohn brenan, the men in the u.s. president wants to run the military and the cia. this is al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha. and china decides to reform its controversial labor camps. we speak to one man who had a very lucky escape. exclusive pictures from northern me and mark, wher -- northern myanmar. and nasa has found 461 new plants that could support life as we know it. u.s. president barack obama has made controversial choices for two of the top jobs in his government. is nominated chuck hagel for defense secretary and john brenan as dia director. both of them must now be approved by the u.s. senate. now this report. >> with his second term soon to begin, president obama is putting the finishing touches to his national security team. introducing the men that he wants to lead the pentagon and the cia. >> these two leaders have dedicated their lives to protect our country. i urge the senate to confirm them as soon as possible. >> both nominees face difficult questions before they are confirmed in the u.s. senate. table seems perfect for the pe

obama completing the nominations for his national security team yesterday.nominatingchuckhageltobe secretary of defense and john brennan to be the next director of the c.i.a. the critics are already out with their sharp swords. they intend to do to chuck hagel what they were able to do to susan rice but it's not going to work this time because the white house is fighting back. they're already doing so. we've got to join that fight. we'll talk about that and a whole lot more. first, we get the latest, today's current news update, here she is, lisa ferguson out in los angeles. hi lisa. >> hey bill. welcome back. as bill mentioned obama's new appointments to his national security team are drawing some criticism from capitol hill. first off former senator chuck hagel who the president officially chose yesterday as his defense secretary. obama called him an american patriot and the leader our troops deserve. if confirmed hagel will be the first vietnam vet and the first enlisted soldier to become secretary of defense. republicans are criticizing the former senator for not having enou

as part of his sales pitchforhagel. >>i'veservedwithchuckhagel, iknow him. he is a patriot. >> senator jack reid who was also on that 2008 trip is expected to be, to do much of the leg work in the senate to get hagel's nomination over the finish line. he is going to have to be persuading both. he has a lot of respect in the democratic caucus and the ten soft votes i identified perhaps a little bit more, reid might be able to flip at least half of them. hagel the first vietnam veteran nominated for the post and aides say the president is sticking by hagel because of his desire to have a defense secretary who wore the uniform. at the same time who will be comfortable standing up to the generals as he works to shrink the defense department and complete the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. the brennan nomination, he has been the chief architect and public defender in the expanded use of drones. with 55 senators in the democratic caucus, the drone policy may get some attention during his confirmation hearing. back in 2008, the president wanted him for the cia spot at the time,

u.s. president has nominated two key allies to top jobs in his newadministration.chuckhagelwillbecome the first former soldier to hold the post of secretary of defense. john brennan would become the new head of cia. both appointments have to be approved by the u.s. senate. nominations have already caused controversy. >> president obama is putting the finishing touches to his national security team. introducing the man he wants to lead the pentagon and cia. >> these two leaders have dedicated their lives to protecting our country. i urge the senate to confirm them as soon as possible. >> both nominees face difficult questions before they are confirmed in the u.s. senate. chuck hagel seems perfect for the pentagon. a former republican senator from nebraska. some conservatives say he is not strong enough supporter of israel, even though he voted many times to send billions of dollars there. >> i will do my best for our country, for those i represent at the pentagon, and for all of our citizens. >> john brennan is a long time administration officials who spent 25 years in the cia.

stream are really, truly, finally over.>>chuckhagelisthe leader that our troops deserve. >> hagel for defense chief. >> the real job for defense secretary coming up. >> this budget battle. >> is going to be budget cutting. >> the defense department will go through a major budget. >> the defense budget is really bloated. >> it needs to be taken down. >> why not have a republican make that argument? >> it could be a tough confirmation battle. >> the fight for chuck hagel now is in full throttle. >> chuck hagel is out of the main stream. >> out of the main stream. >> republicans are spoiling for a fight. >> we have everybody fanning out their turkey feathers, strutting around the barn yard like they have something to say about it. >> hagel was a thorn when he turned against the iraq war. >> republicans don't consider him a republican. >> chuck hagel has left the republican party. >> he has long cut his ties with the republican party. >> when he endorsed president obama in 2008. >> democrats don't accept him as an alternative choice. >> hagel appears to be a man without a pa

: tonight on "viewpoint"," the g.o.p. demonizes ourownchuckhagelforthe sin of being right about the iraq war. president obama's nominee for c.i.a. endorses drone strikes that kill innocent people so his nomination should breeze right through. and tomorrow is the anniversary of gabby giffords of being shot and tomorrow is the anniversary of nothing being done about gabby give ford's gifford's being shot. we have all that ahead. >> john: good evening, i'm john fugelsang, and this is "viewpoint." president obama announced nominations for two key members of his national security team. perhaps the only surprise is that republicans seem to find one of them acceptable. of course it's the guy that signs up on drone strikes. the candidates are chuck hagel for secretary of defense and white house counterterrorism adviser john brennan for the director of c.i.a. as the president put t they did not seem too travel. >> obama: chuck hagel's leadership would be historic. he would be the first person of enlisted rank to serve as secretary of defense. one of the few secretaries who have been wounded

,though,chuckhagelthensaid, "well, now that we've killed osama bin laden, let's leave afghanistan." he said that the pursuit of bin laden and al qaeda was, quote, the reason we invaded afghanistan ten years ago. now that bin laden was dead, the president he said has to, quote, start heading toward the exits. he said, "i believe the president will come up with a cogent way to disengage. we need to start winding this down." he said the taliban and al qaeda are two different elements. if we stay after killing bin laden, we have lost our purpose. he said the worst thing we can do is get bogged down without getting out. it wasn't that long ago, but it was interesting to look back a year and eight months ago to when bin laden was killed. i mean, at the time, anybody else think that maybe that would have meant we would come home from afghanistan? it seemed like one of the real possibilities that opened up with that almost unbelievable news on that cold night in may. but we did not leave afghanistan after this happened. this was roughly 600 days ago. we've got another 700 days ahead of us

days later on may 3rd, 2010, two days after that announcement, retiredsenatorchuckhagelgavean interview to his hometown paper in lincoln, nebraska "the journal star." he told the paper it should reassure america and the world that america is still a leader, and we can and will get the job done. he said, quote, that is very important for the world to realize. more the point, though, chuck hagel then said, "well, now that we've killed osama bin laden, let's leave afghanistan." he said that the pursuit of bin laden and al qaeda was, quote, the reason we invaded afghanistan ten years ago. now that bin laden was dead, the president he said has to, quote, start heading toward the exits. he said, "i believe the president will come up with a cogent way to disengage. we need to start winding this down." he said the taliban and al qaeda are two different elements. if we stay after killing bin laden, we have lost our purpose. he said the worst thing we can do is get bogged down without getting out. it wasn't that long ago, but it was interesting to look back a year and eight months ago t

marriage cases for march. president obama nominated former nebraskarepublicanchuckhageltohead up the defense department and john brennan to take over at the cia. hamid karzai is coming to washington later this week, the headlines this morning about president obama's foreign policy agenda for 2013 -- we want to hear from you -- what are the challenges in 2013 on the foreign-policy front? the numbers are on your screen. send us a tweet or post your comments on facebook. also send us an e-mail. we are getting your reaction today to the nominations put out by the white house yesterday. president obama had a news conference to put forth chuck hegel as well as the john brennan. to head the cia. also, there are the headlines in the newspapers of syria, iran, peace in the middle east, etc so we want to get your take -- what to you think of foreign policy issues in 2013? here is some comments on our facebook page -- what is your take on this? we will get to your comments in a minute. the front page of "the washington post "- here is the front page of the huffington post this morning -- th

, our look atsenatorchuckhagel, hisnominee his not -- his nomination for secretary of defense. steve clemens of "the atlantic," ." and the author of "break out nations."- "breakout nancy callow is keeping track of all the news for us on c-span rita. good morning. >> topics include gun violence, the economy, and the war in afghanistan on today's sunday shows. all five programs were the air at noon eastern time beginning with "meet the press -- "meet the press,." at 1:00 p.m., this week to go with jack reed of rhode island and bob corker of tennessee. also, joe manchin. at 2:00 p.m., fox's sunday, chris wallace with richard blumenthal, the connecticut democrat, and kelly ayotte, a new hampshire republican. cnn kos "state of the union" follows at 3:00 p.m.. david keene, president of the nra, and chris murphy of connecticut, and joe manchin of west virginia. at four o'clock, "face the nation" will bring john mccain and john manchin of west -- west virginia. also, stanley, crystal. -- retired general stanley crystal. finally at 4:00 eastern, "face the nation" from cbs. you can listen to t

politics. two hours fromnow,chuckhagelseenhere on the left and john brennan seen there at the podium on the right, they're going to stand with president obama at the white house to accept his nomination for defense secretary and cia director respectively. neither choice is a shock and neither is likely to have an easy go at the senate confirmation process because you know that's coming up. joining me now with the sin sights on this and the expert e expertise, gloria borger and chief national correspondent john king. in the interest of the new year's resolution to be positive, let's start with the pros, gloria borger. let's go over the list with chuck hagel as the starting point. he's a war hero. and he has two purple hearts from vietnam serving alongside of his brother. each of them saving each other's life which is a story unto itself. and he went on to represent a native nebraska in the u.s. senate and now he co-chairs the president's intelligence advisory board. that sounds like a pretty good cv, they say. what's not to like? >> well, if you're in the white house, you say t

things for the past four years. host: we're taking an in-depth look intosenatorchuckhagel, andwe're using a lot of material from our video library. a lot of it is available to you as well. -- all of it is available to you as well. c-span.org. from 2006, senator hagel had this to say about the middle east. [video clip] >> the leaders of these countries and that particular region have failed the people. for their own reasons. not unlike much of the trouble over the years in africa. it is not america's fault. the leaders themselves of those people and those countries and those regions have failed. have american companies taken an advantage? have there been plundering, abuses? of course. the responsibility for those regions of the world being held behind the rest on the shoulders of our leaders. as i have just catalog about three different reasons, now you see the manifestation. cultures have something to do with that. you cannot impose a democracy, no matter how well-intentioned you are, on a region of the world that may be does not want it. or that does not have history or cultu

. anyway. mikka? >> another battle in washington obviously isoverchuckhagel. that'sgoing to be the big news. >> that's a fantastic transition. let me do that now. today president obama is expected to nominate former republican senator chuck hagel of nebraska as the next defense secretary. hagel, a decorated vietnam combat veteran, would be the first enlisted soldier to hold that cabinet post. his confirmation, however, is -- can you believe this -- shaping up to be a testy battle with the republicans. even though he is a republican. a number of republicans have suggested they will challenge their former colleague with tough questions on his foreign policy record. >> his views with regard to israel, for example, and iran and all the other positions that he's taken over the years will be, you know, i think very much a matter of discussion during the confirmation process. >> so you're not predicting smooth sailing for chuck hagel? >> i think it will be a lot of tough questions of senator hagel, but he'll be treated fairly by republican s in the senate. >> quite frankly, chuck hagel is

nominateschuckhageltorun the pentagon. calling him a leader our troops deserve. hagel's critics call him profoundly wrong on national security. also, we have new details about a horrifying night in colorado. a police officer cries as he describes a theater floor slippery with blood. >>> plus, a first look at proposed regulations that have would-be gun owners racing right now to buy guns. >>> i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> we begin with president obama setting the stage for a new fight here in washington. this time, other the national security team for his second term. the president's nominating the former senator chuck hagel, a republican, for defense secretary, and his counterterrorism adviser john brennan to direct the cia. at least one critic calls the hagel nomination an "in your face" pick. let's bring in our white house correspondent brianna keilar. she's working the story for us. the president was effusive in his praise for hagel. >> president obama said hagel, a republican, quote, represents a bipartisan tradition t

security positions. just moments ago the presidentnominatedchuckhagel, theformer republican senator from nebraska to be the next secretary of defense, succeeding leon panetta, and he nominated john brennan, counterterrorism homeland security adviser in the white house to be the next director of the cia, succeeding the acting director, mike morell, who took over in november when john david petraeus stepped down following an extramarital affair with his biographer. the president made it clear he wants the senate to confirm these nominations quickly, especially chuck hagel, because there has been some controversy over the nominee. listen to the president. >> chuck recognizes that american leadership is indispensable in a dangerous world. i saw this in our travels together across the middle east. he understands that america stands strongest when we stand with allies. and with friends. as a successful businessman, he also knows that even as we may tough fiscal choices, we have to do so wisely, guided by our strategy and keep our military the strongest fighting force the world has

chuckhagelfans.that said president obama has picked hagel. he likes hagel. they're friends going back to their senate tenure. it's hard to imagine if obama really wants hagel ten democratic senators will vote against him. i find that hard to believe. second thing is president obama wants to push for cuts in defense spending. their view is there's no better advocate for it, no better voice for cutting the pentagon that a provincial vietnam veteran like chuck hagel. >> i want to play a clip of what former general stanley mcchrystal said on the "today" show this morning. >> if president obama trusts him, i think senator hagel has the experience. he's certainly got the quality as a person. the real matter is whether the president has that level of trust. that level of trust and relationship between those people and with other members of the cabinet are the most important. >> matt, to perry's point, is a big part of this about the president just likes him? they've gotten along for many years now? >> yeah. he has a very close relationship with vice president joe biden as well from thei

here. >> one of the big topicsfacingchuckhagel, ifhe is confirmed as defense secretary, is how to bind down the war in afghanistan. that's also the key issue today between president obama and hamid karzai in their meetings. despite his request for a large american residual force after 2014, karzai recently told nbc's atia that afghan troops are ready to take over. >> on the question of the readiness, the preparedness of the afghan security forces, they are quite ready. i can say with confidence to handle the security of the country, the trust of this country and to receive the full transition to them in 2014, rather, in 2013 and to have the departure of the foreign forces from afghanistan completed in 2014. zoom a strong advocate for chuck hagel for the pentagon job. general, welcome. thank you very much. >> nice to be with you. thank you. >> tell me why you think chuck hagel is the right person for this job despite all the controversy that has been raised about what he said about israel in the past and iran in the past, criticisms of some of his other statements certainly the sta

has to oblige. they have to get it done. the biggest problem and this is whereperhapschuckhagel, youknow, in terms of the kind of difficulties he's having now on capitol hill, may run in to some difficulty, is convincing members of congress up there on capitol hill who, in fact, take on their pet pork barrel projects, even though the pentagon has said we don't want those programs. we don't want those airplanes. congress, instead, votes -- goes ahead and votes for it because it means money and votes back home for many members of congress. so i think that ultimately will be the biggest challenge for secretary of defense chuck hagel if, in fact, he is confirmed, tamron. >> you took issue with what first read pointed out, which is the politics which is what i was starting out the conversation with you regarding, the politics of this, when you have general mcchrystal and we'll play him later today on the "today" show this morning talking about a disconnect between the generals and those leaders of the military and the white house particularly in afghanistan. so it's not asking you to del

obama's nomination team taking shape. formersenatorchuckhagelhasbeen tapped to take over the lead at the pentagon from leon pennetta, who offered some parting thoughts during the announcement. take a listen. >> the time has come for me to return to my wife, sylvia, our three sons, their families, our six grandchildren and my walnut farm. dealing with a different set of nuts. [ laughter ] >> i guess when you're out-going, mark halperin, you can do that. >> look, he's a funny guy and he survived in washington in public service for 50 years in the military in executive branch and congress being not just serious and smart and dedicated but a really funny and nice guy. incredible story. i was glad to see amist thedst announcement of the new nominees he got his ceremony and i'm sure there will be more in the next couple of weeks. >> a vietnam soldier and veteran has been nominated as the next secretary of defense and the president emphasized hagel's government service and personal connection to the organization he's now been nominated to run. >> chuck represents the bipartisan tradition

something. youknow,chuckhagel'ssomeonewho i have known since 2007 when we were arguing against a troop increase in iraq and i can tell you on a personal level especially reading his book he cares what happens to the soldier or the marine on the ground embedded in combat and i think in afghanistan with green on blue killings, a question of projection of force and embedded with afghan troops, this is someone to say is this worth the sacrifice and there was a large debate in washington, d.c. prior to the increase of troops in afghanistan and hagel quietly was on the side that was against the president's plan of sending more troops and i think he looks right and this isn't just a shot, you know, lindsey graham calls it in your face sort of announceme announcement. it is in your face to neo-conservatives and dems and republicans because this is a realism argument that people like i believe or control knell schafer and nation building interventionists who think we should fight wars for democracy in the far end corners of the world. >> john, hagel served in war and voted to send soldiers to w

bronze star and his third purple heart. this manischuckhagel. chuckhagelenlistedin the army in 1967. he was a sergeant in the infantry. in 1968 -- and this is an anomaly. this is not true of very many other people, if any other people at all. chuck hagel served in the same small patrol in the infantry as his brother. he was 21 at the time. his brother tom was 19. in march 1968, sergeant hagel was on patrol when he was hit by shrapnel from a mine. he still carries some of that shrapnel in his chest today. but that day in 1968, it was his younger brother tom who tore his shirt open and wrapped the bandages around chuck hagel's chest to stop the bleeding. his brother saved him. his younger brother tom had also been hit by shrapnel. they spent time recovering in a field hospital after that incident. they didn't stay in the hospital long, though, because the following month, in april 1968, the two of them were back out together. they were riding in the same armored personnel carrier when it also was hit by a mine in an ambush. quoting from the book "long time passing" here, chuck instant

on all things military, what was your -- what was your reaction to the nominationofchuckhagel? thiscomes, of course, against the back drop of susan rice and the cratering of her nomination. >> sure. the first thing that happened was this enormous and i think pretty unjustified republican reaction against him because if you look at chuck hagel on paper, he is the perfect gop candidate. you know, combat veteran, businessman, earned millions of dollars in the private sector, very successful washington career. was an organizer for ronald reagan. as senator, supported missile defense, defense increases, don't ask don't tell. i mean, right down the line very sort of doctrine supporter of defense. i was pretty shocked to see this huge outcry against him, and i think it goes back to things other than chuck hagel. >> yeah. just maybe. karen, lindsey graham saying this is an in your face nomination. he would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense. sharp words, which probably p r portends something more than just policy disagreements. >> true, although at this point lindsey graham has

hands? you bet, but the fight is going to beoverchuckhagelforsecretary of defense. that is going to be a proxy battle between what you might call the know 0-conservatives, the bush ii folks, mccain, lieberman, lindsey graham, and the others and what hagel stands for, john, is non- interventionist foreign policy. we don't go to war unless vital interests are at stake. we put our own country first. i think this is going to be the battle royal in the coming months. >> eleanor. >> nobody is a shoe-in with the republican party that fails to defeat president obama for reelection but still seems determined to make him a failed president but jacob lew is as close to a shoe-in as there can be. the only complaint you hear is that he hasn't spent enough time on wall street, and for a lot of democrats that's actually a positive attribute. so he will be confirmed. and i believe senator hagel will also be confirmed, although that's a bigger fight, and his remarks about israel that somehow he isn't tough enough on israel, his objection to sanctions was that they were unilateral. he now su

relationship. i never felt i needed to sleep with some toad in order to get someplace. so what is the difference between someone like me and someone like mariah? >> you will do it for yourself. bring yourself up by your own -- and if you can't do it by your own you will do without. >> a lot of people won't do without. >> and also there is self-esteem involved. >> joy: yeah, but if i could sing like mariah i wouldn't need tommy -- >> thousands thing like mariah. >> joy: really? >> absolutely. >> joy: all right. one thing about mariah she is now in a great relationship with nick cannon, i think. he is a lovely guy, and good for her. thanks to all of my ges. thank you guys. join me tomorrow i'll be talking to betty white, and the cast of the shahs of sunset. >> jennifer: i'm jennifer granholm. tonight in "the war room," president obama nominates a republican war hero for defense secretary, and republicans say they don't like it. honestly, what is wrong with these people? [♪ theme music ♪] >> jennifer: today the president nominated normer nebraskasenator,chuckhagelfordefense secretary so he would be the first enlisted soldier to leave the department. and also the first vietnam department. he has gotten endorsements from colon powell robert gates, tom ridge, but the other defining element of his resume? he's a republican. >> finally chuck represents the bipartisan tradition that we need more of in washington. for his independence he has earned the respect of military leaders, republicans and democrats, including me. >> jennifer: he would be the second appointed cabinet member. and not since president kennedy have there been that many republican in a democratic administration. but listen to this. >> iknowchuckhagel. heis an honorable man, but he is profoundly wrong. it is pretty clearthatchuckhagelhasleft the republican party when he endorsed president president obama in 2008. >> jennifer: he didn't actually support president obama, but also there is bill kristol who has leading the anti-hagel charge online. his pac actually bought chuckhagel.com, and probably won't be a fan site. and his pac has been running anti-hagel ads. >>announcer:hagelsaysmilitary action is not a viable responsible option. >> jennifer: so interesting, and it's not just bill kristol's pac goingafterchuckhagel. inanticipation of the confirmation hearings republicans in congress are combing through all of the past comments for something they can use against him, and in2011chuckhagelcalledthe military budget bloated and said it should be paired down. let's take a look at that statement. in fact the defense has skyrocketed over the last century as you can see in this graph. we now spend more than any other country, and in fact we spend more than the next 13 countries combined. republicans -- that's one argument, right? republicans also say that they are worriedthatchuckhaguelegal be too weak on iran based on his dove-like approach to iraq. mitch mcconnell said today that he would have some tough questionsforhagel, butback in 2007 mitch mcconnellcalledhagel.. . and said many of thepredictionschuckhagelmadeabout the iraq war came true. the next criticismofchuckhagelisthat he won't support israel enough. he has referred to a jewish lobby in washington. but today the anti-defamation league said that it would support him. still the issue reportedly does have the white house concern, and according to cnn the white house has reached out to jewish groups for their support. and then on gay rights. hagel called james hormel aggressively gay. he has renounced those words, but now a future senator who is obviously a leading advocate he told the "boston globe," quote . . . >> jennifer: so joining me now to discuss all of the president's cabinet appoints is michael o'hanlon of the brookings institute. welcome back inside "the war room." really appreciate it. >> thank you governor nice to be with you. >> jennifer: great to be with you too. brookings institution is a very respected organization. do you think hague sell a good pick? >> yeah, i tend to think he is. although i will say right up front is i think tough questioning of the type that mitch mcconnell talked about is entirely appropriate for a confirmation process, and i would be interested to see how senator hagel's views have changed or modified over the years. on iran i share some senator hagel's concerns about the distinct possibility of war, but i also think he was a little bit too optimistic about diplomacy at that time just like senator obama was too optimistic. president obama has become much more forceful and firm in dealing with iran and tightened the sanctions. i think it is fair to learn how senator hagel would have handled the same resolution. but i like the fact that he creates these kinds of questions and these kinds of debates. i think his independent spirit is actually healthy for the big issues we have before us. >> jennifer: yeah obviously anyone who is nominated has to expect some tough questions. but he signaled that he would cut defense spending. what do you think that would look like and would that actually get through congress? >> governor i was very glad when you did your spot a few minutes ago, you mentioned that his statement about a bloated pentagon was two years ago. since then both parties have agreed that the budget needs to be scaled back. and $487 billion has been cut over the following ten years. now the debate is how much more we should cut. my own view is we can cut a little bit more but not as much as sequestration would require. so again the confirmation hearings are going to be excellent opportunities to get into these matters. i don't know what senator hagel things about how much more deeply we can cut, he should be asked. but the pentagon was bigger than it needed to be in 2011 and that's commonly accepted idea at this point. >> jennifer: that's interesting. so that might be a bit of a red herring or at least an unimportant factor but the obama administration is reaching out to jewish groups to get his nomination. do you think statements related to israel are going to pose a problem for him? >> i don't know. i think it will cause some problems yes. it will probably lose him some votes, but i have been under the spotlight a lot less in my life than you have or senator hagel and i have had things come out not quite right, and the question is whether he would have israel's back as defense secretary. and i would like to hear some details on if he would. i think israel does need to rethink it's settlements policy but he would not have a big role in those decisions anyway. he has to help israel's military be strong enough to defend their security. >> jennifer: there was another important nomination today which was john brennan being nominated to head the cia. your take on him given his criticism on the use of interrogation techniques. >> i think he'll get a knew criticisms from the left but these will be from democrats who don't want to see president obama's nomination defeated. and brennan will respond by we don't do that enough anymore. we can have the debate but going forward, we're not going to do enhanced interrogations and i would think that would more or less settle the matter. >> jennifer: so do you think they both get confirmed? >> i think hague legal be tough. he is going to have to show that he is willing to rethink some of his positions. i like the fact that he is a bit of a contrarian but i think some of the conversation is going to be very useful. if he tries to stick with every position he took over the years, he could run into some heavy opposition, but my guess is in the end he will probably be fine and probably get 70 or more votes. >> jennifer: i agree with you. thank you so much for joining us inside "the war room." after the break what do the democrats make of the implosion in the republican party? well, i'm sure they wish it would hurry a long a little bit. peter fenn will help us out on that one. plus we say it all the time keep your eye on the state legislateser. and later what happened to the american dream. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. ♪ >>> this is an in your face nomination by the president to all of us who are supportive of israel. i don't know what his management experience is regarding the pentagon. little if any. so i think it's an incredibly controversial choice and it looks like the second term of barack obama is going to be an in-your-face term. >> stephanie: that is lindsay graham objectingtochuckhagel'snominationto be the next secretary of defense. and hague sell not the only nominee that will face opposition, and here with that story is democratic strategist peter fenn. thanks for joining us in "the war room" again. >> thanks. great to be with you governor. >> jennifer: okay is the president going to have a really big fight on his hands, or is this just a bunch of media making about it because a few are raising their head and objecting? >> it's really hard to tell how much the republicans are going to push this. they are itching for a fight, governor. they just got kind of beaten up. boehner is in trouble. so they are picking a fight with the president a bit on this one. lindsay graham is looking over his shoulder worried about his base, so you have got a little of that going on but right there have only been three republicans who have stated their for-sure opposition to him. i'm old enough to remember when john tower was getting beaten above the head and shoulders, but there was a guy who had serious alcohol problems serious womanizing problems serious personal issues which the senate was worried about, and that was a 53-47 vote. so i think they may try to goat him in these hearings and get him to lose his temper to get angry. but this guy is a pro, and he is not going to do that. i think it may be a lot of sound and fury significantsignificant significant -- signifying nothing. >> jennifer: i totally agree with you.becausechuckhagelisa man who doesn't really have a constituency. he has somewhat left the republicans, and isn't necessarily a democrat. but at the end of the day i'm firmly convinced he and john brennan both get nominated. let's talk about john brennan for the cia. >> obviously he had four years to look at water boarding policies, which he was par of the cia, and he has come out very strongly that we have moved on from this. i watched that interview he got himself in trouble on a little bit today, and he was talking about taking the gloves off. what did that mean not a good turn of phrase at the time and one which was used against him, but he has been at the president's side every single day, briefed him every day. i think the liberals that were concerned about that four years ago, that issue has been resolved, we have a clear policy and he is with the program. so i just don't think that is going to be a major deal. the president is looking at his second term for two strong qualified competent folks to take over this tough job, and i think he has made two very good picks. >> jennifer: yeah i do too, and at the end of the day they both get confirmed i'm pretty confident of that. >> one of the problems the republicans have if they look petty again on this one, if they get up there -- and they can do this so well, and there is a way that highingel can eviscerate them and then they look bad. >> jennifer: yes, exsaas baiting that by going after a guy who is a republican a decorated war hero, just because he was nominated by the president makes them look worse. there is a new poll out that only 8% of republicans identify them as tea partiers. do you imagine the tea partiers in the house could moderate their views? i know it's wishful thinking. >> it is. i think a lot of these folks are in an alternative universe. i think they can read polls, have their constituents say to them you have gone too far, but these folks are, i'm afraid deaf, dumb and blind. this is a real problem for a lot of these characters. maybe their politics being around some more reasonable people will change their minds, but i think -- the problem is -- that -- the result is going to be these folks get defeated in an election. i think there's more chance of that than they change their positions or minds. >> jennifer: do you really hate to say it? >> well i would love to see it. but i would like to see a little reasonableness in this town to pass some of this stuff. >> jennifer: that's right. peter fenn thank you so much for coming inside "the war room." >> thanks. >> jennifer: you bet. and up next new state legislatures mean a wave of new state laws some are good and some are bad. we'll talk about that whwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwhwh >> i think it's brilliant. (vo) first, news and analysis with a washington perspective from an emmy winning insider. >> i know this stuff, and i love it. (vo) followed by humor and politics with a west coast edge. bill press and stephanie miller. >> what a way to start the day. [ ryon ] eating shrimp at red lobster is a fantastic experience. 30 shrimp for $11.99. i can't imagine anything better. you're getting a ton of shrimp and it tastes really good! [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobster's 30 shrimp for just $11.99! choose any two of five savory shrimp selections like mango jalapeÑo shrimp and parmesan crunch shrimp. two delicious shrimp selections on one plate! all with salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits. 30 shrimp, just $11.99 for a limited time. wow, that's a lot of shrimp. i'm ryon stewart i'm the ultimate shrimp lover, and i sea food differently. ♪ >> jennifer: let's take a look at the state of our states. legislatures across the country are wrapping up lame duck sessions. in illinois their session is winding down. but today democrats sent a bill to the floor that would allow undocumented immigrants to receive driver's licenses. and over the weekend in illinois a last-pitch effort to legal size same-sex marriage lost steam and will be taken up on wednesday. president obama won virginia by 150,000 votes, so naturally republican delegate mark cole is pushing a tough voter id law that would out law bank statements paychecks and even utility bills if people used them as indication. in california for the first time in 130 years, democrats actually have a two-thirds super majority in both chambers to go along with the governor lawmakers have lard introduced more than 100 bills in california including one to strictly regulate ammunition purchases. here to discuss that is "san francisco chronicle" political reporter joe garofoli. let's talk about california for a second. because all i can tell you, as a former governor two-third's majority in each house. oh my god. >> it's very tempting to ram through everything you have ever wanted to do. but jerry brown, remember this is his third term. 74 years old. he is a smarter wiser guy. look for the legislature to follow his lead. >> jennifer: it will have to go on the ballot if they are going to raise taxes. >> right. >> jennifer: even though that was the big drawback of prop 13. >> prop 13 caps property taxes, but they are going to nibble at it. is sort of a loophole that says if you are a commercial property owner, you won't get reassessed and they are going to go after that. and jerry brown has laid very quite. he is going to say let that come from the grass roots. >> jennifer: so how many of the increases are tax bills? >> there are some in there. >> jennifer: you cover san francisco and one of the issues that is really important in this community is lbgt rights. >> yes. >> jennifer: the log cabin republicans put out a statementopposingchuckhagel. >>they are opposing him. and barbara boxer is even like i'm going to take a wait and see attitude. and it goes back to a comment that bill clintonmade.hagelsaidthis he said they are representing america, our lifestyles and values, and ithinkchuckhagelisaggressively gay. >> jennifer: right. but he has apologized. >> yes, 14, 15 years later when he is being nominated as secretary of defense. so he'll come home but there will be public gravelling. >> jennifer: and you have same-sex marriage efforts across the country. you have don't ask don't tell off the books. is sexual orientation going to an issue that really rallies the gay community? >> the log cabin republicans are wants to get their name off there a little bit. but hagel did oppose gays in the military, saying the u.s. armed forces are not some sort of social experiment. so he will also get nailed on that. he will spend a good portion of his hearing apologizing for things he did in the past. >> jennifer: but jerry brown do you think he will run for a second term? >> i think so. he is right now being treated for prostate cancer. >> jennifer: right. and everybody is saying he's going to be fine on that. >> the man has tremendous energy. i talked to some california labor leaders who are very tight with the governor and they said absolutely. >> jennifer: and on the republican side? >> hello, anybody out there? >> jennifer: crickets. >> [ cricket sound effect ] >> jennifer: all right. "san francisco chronicle" political reporter joe garofoli, appreciate it. up next a virginia legislator is putting forward a bill that would require at least one person in every school to have to carry a gun. we'll ♪ >> jennifer: back inside "the war room," i'm jennifer granholm. in the wake of the sandy hook elementary school shootings, you recall the nra suggested all schools install armed guards to prevent a similar tragedy. >> the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> jennifer: of course wayne lapierre went on to suggest that there should be armed personnel inside our schools, and our next guest thinks that's a good idea. bob marshall has drafted legislation that at least one person be armed inside of our schools in virginia. welcome inside "the war room." >> it could also be a good lady with a gun as an off-duty deputy sheriff proved last week when someone entered a theater with a gun. >> jennifer: which is better from your perspective? should be it an armed teacher? an armed guard with a gun? would the armed person have prevented the sandy hook tragedy in your mind? >> let me give you the background? virginia there are 1980 public schools. we have 552 armed police guns there are about 860 security personnel who are from private agencies. they do not have guns. the purpose is if there is god forbid a situation like there was in connecticut, none of us can imagine what those families are going through, but i want to do something to help prevent the sorrow from spreading. if a person is trained to respond, it would cut these things short, and reduce the amount of killing. the one characteristic is that most of them if not all of them are so-called gun-free zones. the guy in aurora colorado there were seven theaters that were playing batman and he went to the only theater with signed posted no gun zone. we have those in all of our schools. israelis have done this in their states. utah has had armed teachers for 12 years, and there have been no incidents at all. >> jennifer: i mean i -- i appreciate trying to figure out a solution to this very very difficult problem, but i find it hard to believe that people who would go off and kill scores of people are as rational as that a sign would deter them. i'm not sure they are thinking about the national gun free schools law. but 1980 k through 12 schools in virginia? >> almost 2000. >> jennifer: all right. so the idea would be there are armed personnel in those schools, and if there are armed guards, who pace for that. >> that's why i didn't necessarily want to go with the payment. if we have to hire 1800 please that's $120 million. that's a big hole in the budget. i have emails from teachers principals vice principals other personnel at schools who said please authorize this training i will take it. so these people are already working on the payroll, and you have to be a teacher or principal for three years at the school volunteer at the school or retired policeman in the district for three years. why three years? it's a proxy for trust in this person. but again, the school board can say, john jones you volunteer, but we're not going to take you, but we'll take salary smith. >> jennifer: what if a school doesn't have volunteers? are you requiring it? or allowing it. >> i'm requiring that they -- look there are 311,000 virginians who have concealed carry permits right now. like i said i have been approached -- >> jennifer: right. but if nobody is volunteering then they have to hire somebody? >> they can hire people right now. they can't hire a private armed guard. they are hire a security person. and you know the legislative process. if you can't find somebody you may have to hire somebody to do it. >> jennifer: we're a little bit out of time but i'm so fascinated by this. there are a number of other measures that people are suggesting, but one of the things that people have suggested is that criminal background and mental health background checks for everybody who purchases a gun should be required. do you agree with that? >> we changed some of the statutes in virginia because when that chow situation happened we changed the law after that. now some of the federal privacy laws? one sense they are snooping too much but in the other sense they are not disclosing to family members -- >> jennifer: so should there be a registry? and should private sales be required to have a background check. >> i don't know about private sales, but >> jennifer: 40% of sales are through private sales how do you fix that? >> not at our virginia shows. we have a state police at all of our gun shows. >> jennifer: all right. i appreciate you coming on to give us the perspective from the other side. and up next we know we still want the american dream, and we have pulitizer prize winner hedrick smith, and he is going to look for the american dream in his new book and we'll tell you [ male announcer ] the exclusive air suspension in the 2013 ram 1500. ♪ ♪ engineered to move heaven and earth. ♪ ♪ guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year. before the sneeze, help protect with a spray. before the tissue, help defend with a wipe. before the cold & flu season help prevent with lysol. because when you have 10 times more protection with each hand wash... and kill 99.9% of germs around the house with each spray... those healthy habits start to add up. this season, a good offense is the best defense and lysol has your family covered because that's our mission for health. ♪ >> jennifer: well as long as politicians come up with dumb ideas, and i'm a politician, so i know that happens, cenk uygur is going to be around to smack them around for it and that's why we love the host of "the young turks" who is joining us right now from los angeles. cenk what have you got tonight? >> tonight we'll talk about think hagel and brenner dominations, of course. there is something really interesting about gay republicans being against hagel. it turns out where they got their money might be the answer. and we'll bring on jimmy carter's former national security advisor to talk about makel and where he stands. i think that's a fascinating conversation. >> jennifer: it is a fascinating conversation, i be will tuning in. thanks cenk. >> thank you. >> jennifer: the fiscal cliff debate is behind us thankfully and you would have thought the republicans would have learned their lesson but today, mitch mcconnell threat inned to again shut that whole government thing down. >> none of us like using these situations like the sequester or the debt ceiling or the depreciation of government to try to engage the president to deal with this. it's a shame we have to use whatever leverage have in congress to get the president to deal with our future with excessive spending. >> jennifer: it was yesterday he said that but i'm sure he still believes it today. everybody agrees we have to cut spending for long-term purposes. the disagreement is over the length of time. joining me now is pulitizer prize winner hedrick smith, he is the author of the new book "who stole the american dream?" so glad to well you inside "the war room." >> so good to be with you. >> jennifer: do you think the middle class is a casualty of this kind of political wrangling in washington. >> i think it goes further back than that. it starts with a huge power shift that took place in washington back in the 1970s. we think of middle class prosperity as a time when the economy worked much better but the politics worked much better as well. we had women's movement strong labor movement all of those things helped buttress the power of the middle class and middle class prosperity. there was a shift. there was a revolt of the bosses touched off by none other than lewis powell and he said to business you are getting taken to the cleaners get organized. hire lobbyists. set up your superfunds, the finds of things that have happened today began back in the 1970s. it was a deliberate power grab. >> jennifer: so you describe this as all stemming from then lawyer lewis powell who ultimately got appointed to the supreme court, extorting businesses. so are you suggesting that businesses stole the american dream? >> businesses are part of it absolutely. if you go back to your own state of michigan. go to charlie wilson who was head of general motors out there. he believed the job of the ceo was to support the interest of the stakeholders, not the shareholders. it includes the bankers, the customers, the flint michigan if you will of the world, and they tried to spread the wealth. share the wealth. the new bully of business is what i call wedge economics. you take care of the people at the top, the ceo, the top executives, the investors, and the people in the middle get stuck. if you look at the pay of the average male american work it is exactly as it was in 1978. that's three decades of the middle class going nowhere, while the ceos are making 300, 400% more so it happened in the economy and in politics and policy. >> jennifer: and we talk about that growing inequality here a lot, and the question is what do you do about it? you describe an era where there was something called a vertous circle. you paid your people enough to buy your products and felt connected to the community. how do you get back to that in this global economic? >> isn't that a wild idea? if you pay your people well everybody benefits. we have a slow economy. because we have slow consumer demand why? because the people at the top took all of the money. the answer is yes we can do that in the world today. look at germany. germany has faced the same problems we faced. they face india, china, and they have a trade surplus and -- >> jennifer: well what is it that germany is doing that we're not doing? what can we follow? >> they are paying their middle class workers five times faster growth in their pay in the last 25 years than we paid. the management and labor are getting together to try to hold good high-tech jobs in germany. 21% of their work force is in manufacturing, only 9% of ours. they are working together to promote trade. the government sets up trade fairs, so middle sized german companies can trade in china and india and korea and taiwan. they work together instead of against each other. we have forgotten how to do that. >> jennifer: we have. we have. there is management and labor working together. i 100% agree with you, and i'm so glad that you wrote about it. that's hedrick smith. thank you so much for coming into "the war room." he is author of "who stole the american dream?." and hopefully you can read it and find some solutions. up next so we flew brett ehrlich up to san francisco tonight on the condition t tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt0733 rks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us. ♪ >> jennifer: almost everything in washington, d.c. is a sales job, so the president has had tosellchuckhageltocongress and obamacare to the american people. he has had to sell a debate on his anniversary night to michelle. but the president's image, his face he has been selling a lot of less significant things around the globe for some time. and here to discuss that is our very own brett ehrlich. >> the president has been in a hot of advertisements. the first was from this week in israel has started running this ad of the president to get you to tune into their -- their coverage of the election and i'm tuning into someone to keep me up to date it is not someone who is thinking that people in america are still listening to boom boxes on their shoulder. >> jennifer: exactly. but he is also selling things like fast-food. >> yes, honk congress kfc had run thissed a for the president, and it involved a look-alike of the president. and a rogue fast food entree >> jennifer: you got it. [ cheers ] >> change not only for america, but the whole world, not only for your mom, but for you, your stomach, for better taste. [ speaking foreign ] >> change is good. [ cheers ] >> jennifer: that is insane. that is totally insane. >> the president of the united states was just crushed by a fish sandwich. it should be noted that kfc released a statement this was men as a spoof, and clearly the president made it out okay to enjoy the fish sandwich. now benton is an italian clothing line. and in 2011 they won best press campaign for this unhate campaign it is called where they photo shop world leaders kissing. here is the president kissing hugo chavez. which . . . okay. and then the president kissing tao. this is wrong not because

morning, brace yourself for the next fight in washington,makingchuckhagelsecretaryof defense. even a few top democrats are less than enthusiastic. >> i want him to get an explanation about his position in regards to iran. he has been very reluctant to support tough sanctions against iran. iran is an extremely dangerous country. this is president obama's choice, it's not who i would prefer to see as secretary of defense. >> now even before president obama made the announcement, a handful of republicans came out strongly against hagel. >> he's profoundly wrong on a number of the most important national security issues that face our country today like denying iran nuclear weapons, like direct face to face negotiations with state department designated terrorists organizations like hamas, and calming into question our commitment to our principleal l ally in the middle east, israel. >>> trying to not just score board win after a couple of losses, including the fiscal cliff deal. this fight already looks like a campaign, complete with ads. >> president obama, for secretary of defens

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"the news nation" following but developments in the heated debate of gun control legislation. within the last hour, nra confirmed it will attend the meeting at the white house with vice president biden set for tomorrow. and also today, exactly two years after she was critically wounded in a mass shooting, former congresswoman give fords is launching a new campaign for countering the gun lobby's power and money. she and her husband mark kelly write in a "usa today" op-ed, quote, americans for responsible solutions engaging millions of people about ways to reduce gun violence and funding political activity nationwide. legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby. >>> and the group mayors against illegal guns headed by new york city's mayor michael bloomberg is also out with a new ad featuring the mother of christina taylor green. she is the youngest victim killed in the tucson shooting. >> my 9-year-old daughter was murdered in the tucson shooting. i have one question for our political leaders. when will you find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby? whose child has to die next? to every mother, we cannot wait. >> and the other side ramping up. we have learned that gun rights activists and other conservative groups have planned a gun appreciation day just two days before the nation launches president obama's formal inauguration. joining me now, former pennsylvania governor ed rendell, john rosenthal, chairman of stop handgun violence and msnbc contributor michael smer csmerkonish. is this how we see the conversation move forward, with groups backed by every day citizens on either side i guess putting if you will their stake in the ground and not letting us forget newtown and the promises made by the administration to put some kind of legislation forward? >> right. the great thing about gabby giffords group is to keep the pressure on. what happens in the horrible mass murders is we all get upset, riled up, wonderful memorial ceremonies and then the pressure eases off as time elapses. well, the gifford group will contribute to a lot of other groups and make sure that that doesn't happen this time. this time, we are all very, very serious about this. and it has to get done and there are common sense things which the american people overwhelmingly support. for instance, making background check mandatory. no more gun show exemptions, no more internet exemptions and supported by 74% of nra members so it's time to get the courage, all of our representatives in washington, to get the courage to do something. >> absolutely. and john, let me bring you in because your organization is one of those, you use the voice of the people to get your thoughts out. you're a gun owner and in favor of gun control legislation. let me read something from "the new york times." writing about the nra, congress and money. there are more than 200 me believes of congress who regularly get a perfect score from the nra. it is going to take money to change that because money is what congress responds to and you saw in that op-ed from the former congresswoman giffords her organization plans to fight with money and power to push ahead in the legislation they'd like to see. how intrigued, though, are you that the nra is sending a representative to the meeting tomorrow with vice president joe biden? >> i guess the nra is being an idea blocker and stand in the way of progress. i mean, this is really -- it's a moral issue. over the last 30 years, an average of 30,000 americans have died from firearms. it's basically a 9/11 attack every month. 3,000 americans die. 87 a day. and congress has not only done nothing to prevent it, they've actually enacted regulations to make it easier for the mentally ill, criminals, even international terrorists to buy guns undetected at gun shows, from private gun sales and to tie law enforcement's hands so this is a moral issue. and congress virtually is immoral. it's an immoral institution coming to this. now, unless the public jams the phones at the congress, 202-224-2131, calls the members of congress, demands action, nothing significant is going to change because the republican party is owned by the nra and even the democrats, you know, a majority of democrats have been intimidated in to submission. this is about the public getting involved, taking over their democracy again. gabby giffords and mark kelly have it exactly right. there are roughly 70 million gun owners, 3 million members of the nra. majority support reasonable restrictions like a background check and ban on assault weapons. now the public has to be involved. >> let's get you in on this. at least some of the legislation to see support if possible bipartisan support, we don't know if it's possible, the magazines, the high capacity magazines and assault weapons and bring it up in particular in addition to the background checks needed, maybe a federal bank of information, but general stanley mcchrystal was on "morning joe" this morning promoting the new book about the war in afghanistan and he was asked about gun control legislation. let me play his reaction. >> when it hits a human body, the effects are devastating. it's designed to do that. and that's what our soldiers ought to carry. i personally don't think there's any need for that kind of weaponry on the streets, particularly in -- around the schools in america. >> he was referring to those military-style weapons there, michael. >> he also made a point, tamron, that i thought was significant when i watched it about how our police, i'll paraphrase and say, sometimes outgunned by that sort of fire power and i've always thought that was an unexploited argument, unexploited meaning it could be used to greater advantage of people to put a limitation on those sort of magazines. i go back to something that governor rendell said at the outset which is that the timing is important because despite the horrific magnitude of what happened in newtown, memories do fade and i think that the more time that elapses off the clock before there's a vote on something, the more it is to the advantage of the 2nd amendment purists. >> let's play what the president, to remind people to your point, michael, december 16th. when he referred to the fact that it can't be done just by the administration, that it takes people from all walks of life. let me play the president from december 16th. >> this job of keeping our children safe and teaching them well is something we can only do together. with the help of friends and neighbors. the help of a community. and the help of a nation. >> and that was the president december 16th but it was this sunday, governor rendell, mitch mcconnell said that -- listen, the major issues are fiscal issues and that the gun control legislation or talk of it is a back burner, if you will. something to see three months down the line. when you have such differing viewpoints of the immediacy of addressing this and not waiting for another loss of life, how do you get something done? is it, again, just about the people? >> well, yeah. the people out there as was said here, the people have to let their congressmen know that the time is now. we're sick and tired of waiting, sick and tired of you being cowardly about this. time to stand up for ordinary folks, for us and the memory of those children. i mean, good lord. that ad you played, that 9-year-old girl, you know what her sin was that day, tamron? she wanted to go see the person she looked up to most in her life. her woman congresswoman. she went to exercise the right as an american citizen and gunned down in cold blood. got to stop and we've got to make sure it stops. we need presidential leadership. there's no question. the vice president's a good guy to move this because he was for -- he wrote the original crime bill with the assault weapons ban and we the people have got to be heard. mayors against legal guns. all of us got to be heard. >> and josh, let's bring you back in because we're talking about the ad with christina and as governor rendell pointed out, she wanted to see her hero and her mother is brave to be part of the tv campaign. here's what mayor michael bloomberg had to say on "morning joe" this morning. >> nobody's trying to take away our gun or right to go hunting or target shooting or protection in your home. simply, they're trying to have some reasonable things so people aren't killed. >> so you've said that, as well. michael bloomberg and others reiterate to those as gun right activists. no one want it is take your gun and looking at reasonable legislation. here just a few days before the inauguration, this gun rights group and conservatives have launched a gun appreciation day. what he is your reaction of that being a counter offensive by all accounts say a legitimate conversation to be had with the number of deaths we have seen? john? >> oh, i'm so sorry. okay. as i mentioned, you know, congress is controlled by the nra. the nra is all about selling guns. federal gun policy is about unrestricted access to guns. tie law enforcement's hands. have more mass shootings, more high profile mass shootings. more fear. more gun sales. more profits. >> but specifically, this gun appreciation day that will take place two days before the inauguration. >> it's all about selling more guns. and intimidating members of congress and the president to not do anything. mitch mcconnell laid it out nice and clearly. the fact that 3,000 americans die every day, 3,000 every month and 600 since newtown, and he's saying that's not an emergency? 87 dead americans every day and the fiscal cliff or debt ceiling is more important than 87 families burying their children and family members every day? that is immoral. and the nra is immoral. and let's face it. the gun industry controls congress and until the people take back their congress, it's going to be more massacres, more gun sales, more money back to the nra supporters in congress. >> let's get in you on this, michael. there are conservative groups backing this gun appreciation day. >> yeah. >> but for those who think it's just republicans or conservatives who are so-called gun rights advocates that's not the case. i want to play freshman senator highcamp. she was on abc's "this week," their sunday morning program. >> i think you need to put everything on the table but what i hear from "the washington post" and white house, that's way in extreme of what i think is necessary or even should be talked about. and it's not going to pass. >> certain things are not going to pass and the things she was referring to listed as possible proposals from the president, assault weapons, magazine bans, background check on all guns and anti-gun trafficking statute to possible see. are those things extreme, mi michael? >> i don't think it's extreme. i think it's risky for a gun appreciation day because you can imagine what the evening news will look like that night and the film footage of the folks as part of that group. i don't mean the typical suburb suburbanint we the gun in the bedroom and bring out the fringe to cause middle america to say, holy smokes, we have a problem here. >> and governor rendell, you know, to michael's point, remember during the primary in 2008, we had people showing up at different rallies with their guns at their side. remember, chris matthews, you know, famous reaction to the man that decided to show up with his gun. not to protect anyone but to prove that it was his right to be armed in that particular location. michael makes a great point. what's the imagery? here we are having the gun conversation and people that have a right to assemble are there to appreciate the gun. and when you look at the statistics, we have enough guns in the country for each and every one of us to have a few. there's not a shortage of the appreciation of the weapon. >> no. it's incumbent upon the gun owners and the nra members who are rational. it's important to take center stage and say, yeah, i'm nra member, a gun owner. i don't think anybody needs a magazine with more than ten clips in it. i don't think anybody needs an assault weapon. i want background checks for anybody and nobody with mental health problems getting guns. incumbent upon them to stand up and people who do enjoy and, look, there are legitimate as the mayor said, legitimate uses for guns. hunting in my state in pennsylvania, it's a huge hunter state. it's the terms of nra membership. but you know, for all these weak-kneed politicians, i was opposed by the nra. each time i ran for statewide office. three times, tamron. i got elected in the second largest nra membership state by 10%, 12% and 21% of the vote. >> right. >> that was my margin. >> governor rendell, well -- you man up. man up. >> you speak the facts. the title of the recent book, may require a different thing for people to do. i won't say the title of the book. i'll let you if you so choose. we have become a nation of what? >> wussies. >> there you go. thank you very much, and john anne michael. great pleasure volcano you on today. >>> the republicansdy policemen ma. john mccain and others praisesenatorchuckhagelyearsago. we'll take a look at the republican problem there. democratic senator will join us to talk live about the latest on hagel and brennan. >>> protests outside the white house, over john brennan's nomination as cia director. why aren't people talking about the controversy surrounding him more? >> for the american people. >> thank you, america. >> helping people recover and rebuild, this's what we do. >> now, let's bring on tomorrow. >> the ad campaign is called thank you america. that's what aig is saying publicly after being rescued by the bailout. so why is the insurer now considering suing the u.s. government? you can join our conversation on twitter. what can we do with a brand new year, and a room that needs refreshing? we can work with a new collection of carpet that proves durable can be softer than ever. we can get for less and spread that softness even further. turns out, we can do even more than we thought we could. because this is the year of doing. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. roll out the new year with free whole home basic carpet installation on three rooms or more. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand. that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident, and new car replacement, where, if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call... to talk to an insurance expert about everything else that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. ♪ born to make mistakes liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? i hate getting up in the morning. i love bread. i love cheese. did i say i love chocolate? i'm human! and the new weight watchers 360 program lets me be. the reason i'm still in this body feelin' so good isn't because i never go out and enjoy the extra large, extra cheese world we live in. it's because i do. and you can too. because when a weight loss program is built for human nature you can expect amazing. introducing the new weight watchers 360 program. join for free and expect amazing. because it works. join for free and expect amazing. for ovnights can feel califolong and lonely.dren, i miss my sister. i miss my old school. i miss my room. i don't want special treatment. i just wanna feel normal. to help, sleep train is collecting pajamas for foster children, big and small. bring your gift to any sleep train, and help make a foster child's night a little cozier. not everyone can be a foster parent, but anyone can help a foster child. >>> on hagel's part, i think there are serious policy concerns and i think these hearings will make a great deal of difference as to whether he's confirmed or not. >> senator corker in the past hour jumping in to the debate of president obama's nomination of formersenatorchuckhagelforsecretary of defense. also in the past hour, white house press secretary carney said he expects hagel will win bipartisan support. >> we fully expect that after the fair hearing that senator mcconnell said he hoped senator hagel would receive, that he will be confirmed as the next secretary of defense. >> meantime, hagel is defending his past statements about israel and iran. he told his hometown newspaper in nebraska, quote, the distortions about my record have been astounding. there's not one shred of evidence i'm anti-israel, not one vote that hurt israel. he denied he is soft on iran, defending the stance against unilateral u.s. sanctions on iran saying they don't work and they just isolate the united states. joining me now, retired army colonel jack jacobs and also politics reporter for "roll call." colonel, i'll start with you in this discussion. many people talked about the dynamic of the confirmation hearing and you have john mccain who oncepraisedchuckhagel, evensaying that he could be secretary of state. now going after this war hero, two war heroes, if you will, together and what will likely not be a glorious moment but to give us all pause. what do you make of the dynamic here? much of the praise of john mccain and the credibility is the fact he served and same is saidforchuckhagel? >>there's a lot of things at work here. one of them is the senate's opportunity to assert itself in an environment of which the president's won re-election and they don't want him to do anything he wants. they're also very muched concerned generally about what hagel probably intends to do and that is to continue panetta's effort to streamline the pentagon and make budget cuts. those who are in favor of a strong defense are against that and therefore against hagel's perception more cuts are necessary and finally there is a great deal of concern about hagel's statement that unilateral american action in trying to restrict what iran can do economically and with its money, hagel doesn't think that's a good thing to do and lots of people on both sides of the aisle in the senate who disagree with hagel about that and hearing about that in the hearings. >> it's interesting, colonel, that, again, going back to his war record and when you look at our nation as the president pointed out, could have a leader as secretary of defense who has been in that situation. he knows what it is like to have young men and women in the mud and the ground and like to see people, you go in to war with and you come out without them. you know this, as well. give us some perspectives and the importance of having an individual like this, whetherit'schuckhagelormaybe in the future someone else who's been there as a foot soldier. >> well, it's always worthwhile to have somebody who's been at the lowest level of abstraction, have that person at the highest level of abstraction at the top of the food chain because he has an appreciation of what it's like at the bottom. except that in the case of the defense secretary, he is not making the kinds of decisions that really have an impact on the lowest level, the bottom of the food chain. having said all that, this would be the first person to serve as an enlisted man in war to be at the top of the pentagon. i think it's healthy and worthwhile thing to do. my concern is after hagel and i think hagel will probably get confirmed after the hearings, after hagel, who's to follow? what is the trail of people who do have combat experience? who will follow hagel? i'm concerned about this. >> let's bring you in and transition from hagel because you have a lot of progressives and even actually today one republican and we'll play the sound a little bit later wondering whether or not john brennan is getting some kind of a pass here. there was a protest yesterday outside of the white house. notaboutchuckhagelbutjohn brennan, the role in the bush administration regarding aggressive interrogation techniques, his role regarding the drone missions that continued through the obama administration as politico points out today, even reviving this dispute over leaks or alleged leaks out of the white house. are we not paying enough attention to brennan when, again, there were actual protests outside the white house yesterday regarding his nomination? >> well, in terms of the confirmation process, what doesn't -- protests outside the white house matter a lot less than protests inside capitol hill. it's just the nature of the beast and how they get confirmed. i think it's interesting that it first brennan was kind of seen as a sure thing and now maybe not so much. a little bit of criticism but i doubt the level of rancor will be anything like to see inthechuckhagelhearings.that's where the big show is going to be. >> you have writers, though, making a great point. making the point as a progressive, as a liberal that perhaps here we are at a time when questions about torture or alleged torture and interrogation has gone by the wayside for the political battle and people complainingaboutchuckhagelandto be confirmed or not, republican, democrats that i have seen all kind of shrug and say, well, it is very likely he will. >> it is likely. i think in the end i agree with my fellow panelists that hagel probably will get confirmed in the end. i think brennan will be confirmed in the end. how bloody will the battle be to get hagel and particularly across the finish line. i'll say something about the far left in the senate. generally the progressive far left is not a large voice in the senate, especially on the armed services committee where these nominees are going through and getting grueling questions from senators. it's just not a loud voice in the senator and i don't know if they have that much of an impact in the long run in the process. >> thank you very much. colonel jacobs, a pleasure, as well. talking with you soon, i'm sure. thank you. >>> still ahead, call him a confident man. what nbc's first read team says president obama's cabinet nominations show about the president's confidence levels today compared to 2009. >>> plus, a lotto murder mystery. a million dollar winner murdered as he was about to collect the big paycheck. one of the stories that we have for you around the "news nation." >>> right now, governor christie delivering the state of the state address. what issaying? 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[ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. >>> welcome back. our first read team notes president obama's second terminational security team, they say it says a lot about the confidence level right now. in fact, the team writes kerry, hagel, brennan and keeping tom donilon as national security adviser, indicates the president is not just interested in running foreign policy out of the white house but he wants to leave an obama imprint. but it may be more than that. obama's displaying a confidence that he didn't necessarily show after 2008. let me bring in correspondent john harwood. john, a great pleasure to have you on. if that analysis is accurate, saying there's new level of confidence, where would this confidence lead us, especially with these two national security members if they're all confirmed here? >> well, first of all, it's led us to the point of him being willing to take on these confirmation fights. he was willing to take on susan rice for a while. that one ended up getting too difficult and she stepped aside but the president's got an attitude of i've been vindicated by the election and the record in the first term. i got bin laden, i wound down wars unpopular and he has a -- is looking at republicans and saying, you guys were smack talking me for a couple of years and you had the tea party in 2010 and you thought i was back on my heels but i've just been vindicated by the voters in the election with 51% and i'm going to try to impose my will as much as i can.>>chuckhagelandjohn kerry, the politico today, their headline story, points to how formidable these two might be for many reasons but, again, both being vietnam veterans and how this could with the president's agenda and strategy set the stage for wars in the future or the avoid answer of military footprint on the ground and the years ahead, john. >> well, i think to some degree the latter, tamron, is the relevant point here. the term vietnam veteran brings with it the -- all of the turmoil and the tumult and the second guessing that came with the conflict and so peoplelikechuckhagelandjohn brennan who are not averse to the use of force, nevertheless, discriminating how they think about it, and i think that's going to influence president obama's decisionmaking.chuckhagel, ofcourse, reluctant to get behind the second war in iraq that president george w. bush launched and beginning of hisdy vur intelligence of the republican party in that serious way and grafted on to the entire democratic party. >> just quickly here. the battle aheadwithchuckhagel, we'regoing to talk to senator cardin in a second but meanwhile, what do you make of at least the dilemma for some republicans like john mccain on recordpraisingchuckhagel, evensaying he could be secretary of state to now having what's referred to as serious concerns? >> one thing to express concerns and criticize him and then another thing to vote to deny the president's choice. on johnmccain,chuckhageloneof four republican senators that endorsed john mccain when he was running against george w. bush in the 2000 primary and it was tested in the 2008 campaign and strained because ofwhatchuckhageldidin that campaign but i think the odds are that if the president sticks with this nomination and there's ever reason to think he will, that the democratic concerns are likely to melt away substantially and there will be a big chunk of republicans that vote against him but not likely enough to derail the nomination. >> thank you very much. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> after the nomination of hagel, ben cardi inform of maryland issued a statement saying, in part, quote, i have concerns based on positions he's taken and statements he has taken on a variety of topics. thank you for joining us, sir. >> nice to be with you, tamron. >> we have heard senator john mccain and the republican party having serious concerns but here you are a democrat and tammy baldwin a new member of the senate, also, expressing some concerns but do you believe that in theendchuckhagelwillperhaps ease your mind in a meeting? i know you have requested and he will be confirmed here? >> i served with him in the senate. he's an honorable person. he's served our nation in -- wearing the uniform of our nation in vietnam. but there are concerns. and during the confirmation process, we will have to have the questions answered. there's an issue of his position in regards to iran. he opposed certain sanctions against iran. that's hard for me to understand. he's used language not just once but at least twice that have me concerned. and i want some question eeds answered. normally we defer to the president and we have an independent responsibility to advise and consent and these questions need to be answered and i have some concerns. >> so, amongst your concerns, start with israel here. you believe that he is anti-israel, does not support iz sflael. >> no. my concern mainly with iran when he didn't support stronger sanctions against iran. i believe he said we shouldn't do that unilaterally. i believe we should be in the leader position. i want to understand senator hagel's thought process as to why he opposed the tougher sanctions. >> well, at least in this new interview and some of those who have come out to defend him saying he's not soft on iran, not opposed to sanctions. his words were that he did not want the united states to go it alone. he points to in this new interview ant u.n. sanctions, that it not being an effort just with the united states and he says that the u.n. sanctions are now working. >> well, if the united states would have waited for the international community, i would dare say that south africa would have been a lot longer before it ended its apartheid state. the united states showed leadership. the rest of the world followed us in the sanctions. the united states is looked upon internationally as the leader. and we have a responsibility to lead on sanctions. so i -- i personally want to understand why he felt that we should delay allowing iran to move more aggressively forward with its nuclear weapons program when we move forward the international community followed us. these are questions i think as a senator i have a responsibility to get answers before making a decision to support the confirmation or not. >> i want to move to john brennan. there were no protestsofchuckhagelbutwith john brennan, and we have not seen a ton of headlines regarding that opposition. i want to play what republican senator bob corker said in the past hour about what he anticipates will be some pushback of republicans and especially from liberals. let me play it. >> the white house has portrayed him as a priestley figure that sits in a room in the white house with no windows and decides each day who he's going to execute around the world with drones. >> and i don't want to misquote senator corker but he said basically intrigued to see how it plays out with democrats and those on the left. beyond the drones. but to what others have pointed out, brennan and harsh interrogation techniques, waterboarding in the bush jeyea and even some alleged leaks from the wlous. >> well, i think, again, the confirmation process is an important process. we want to make sure to get answers to questions. john brennan has a very distinguished career. he was part of the george w. bush administration and which enhanced interrogation techniques were used which i believe violated our principles and laws so that we want to ask those questions to find out his role in that regard. that's our responsibility as members of the united states senate. but i can tell you john brennan has a very distinguished career and service to our country. >> let me read what senator lindsey graham is saying today. he's not forgotten about the benghazi debacle and many questions about what happened and in that regard i do not believe we should confirm anyone as director of the cia until our questions are answered. so like you, senator, senator lindsey graham has questions about brennan's nomination, wants to postpone it until a benghazi hearing. do you agree with that? >> every senator has the right to get the information they need in regards to benghazi. we have had numerous open and closed briefings. i have participated in many of them. gotten a lot of material. i think the white house is very forthcoming in giving us the information in regards to benghazi. i don't know how much more information we could get before we should act on that particular issue. as it relates to the confirmation hearing, every senator will have the opportunity to ask the questions or get the information they need. >> thank you so much. a great pleasure having you on. thank you. >> thank you. >>> coming up -- >> thank you, america. >> just weeks after releasing an ad thanking americans for the bailout, aig now considering suing the government. details ahead. 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where did we go wrong? thank you to we may sue you. >> they're considering joining a lawsuit filed by their former ceo claiming the rescue of aig cheated shareholders out of tens of billions of dollars. >> in what way? how can we cheat you if you're fledgling or having major trouble? >> basically arguing that the government had any sort of number of options to come in and rescue aig and the way they did it taking 80% of the company and they had really high interest rate on the loans, all basically deprived shareholders and argues that the government violated shareholders' 5th amendment rights taking their property. >> aig has confirmed that the board will meet tomorrow as you pointed out. former ceo is the person leading this idea of joining the lawsuit and hearing if anything from the board members? this is a huge contrast to the thank you and the sacrifice, if you will, some might say that was made to save this banking giant to where we are again now. >> sure. well, all the indication that is we have are that the board recognizes this is putting it mildly, a bit of a pickle that they have this ad campaign out there, they have loudly proclaimed we owe survival to taxpayers and they want to listen to greenberg. >> this is awful pr. >> yes. very, very bad pr. they didn't anticipate this happening when it did. >> let me quickly play jay carney asked about it in the past hour at the white house briefing. he wouldn't comment on the lawsuit but here's what he said about the bailout of aig. >> because of the successful management of taxpayer dollars by the government and the company's restructuring efforts, the company recently fully repaid taxpayers with a profit. the overall positive return on the federal reserve and treasury's combined $182 billion commitment to stabilize aig during the financial crisis is $22.7 billion. >> this meeting again is tomorrow. what are the odds that the board will go ahead with joining the lawsuit? >> they're already kind of low and the indications are getting that it's even lower. i think they that the company sort of realizes it's really, really difficult for them to say, we are going to join the lawsuit given this ad campaign and everything they have said about thanking taxpayers. >> and the stock loss and then rose to where it is now. almost $36 a share. >> bit tough for them to -- >> to complain? >> exactly. >> thank you very much. >>> a murder mystery surrounding a lottery winner tops the look at stories around the "news nation" today. police in chicago say a man that won a million dollars was poisoned days before he was set to collect his prize. at first, officials believed khan died of natural causes. but after a second look, the medical examiner found evidence of cyanide. investigators will exhume khan's body for further tests. >>> a suspect in the attack on the u.s. consulate in again benghazi is released due to lack of evidence. he was the only suspect in custody over the september 11th attack that killed the u.s. ambassador and three other americans. officials say the release is temporary and the man is still under investigation and is not allowed to leave the country. >>> up next, politically incorrect? that's one of the questions out there. espn announcer brent musbuerger on the game an in the stands last night because of comments of alabama's quarterback's girlfriend and her beauty. some are saying he crossed the line. it is our "news nation" gut check. we'll play you what he said. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. 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[ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. >>> there's a lot going on today. here's things we thought you should know. new jersey governor chris christie giving the state of the state address this hour. he said the state is still dealing with the devastation of hurricane sandy and blamed congress shortchanging the people of new jersey. chris christie called on washington to act quickly in approving a $51 billion sandy relief package. >>> and activist evers-williams widow of evers will deliver the innovation at president obama's inauguration this month and the first time a woman and a layperson rather than a clergy member is chosen to deliver the public prayer. those are the things we just thought you should know. >>> and time now for the "news nation" "gut check." alabama beating notre dame last night. what a game. not. but the talk of the town today is not the crimson tide's star quarterback aj mccarron but his girlfriend. miss alabama, katherine webb. the game already 14-0 first quarter when tv cameras focused on the 23-year-old and she certainly got a lot of attention from brent musberger. >> when's a quarterback at alabama, you see that lovely lady there? she does go to auburn. she also, miss alabama, and that's aj mccarron's girlfriend. you quarterbacks get the good looking women. >> wow. >> aj's doing some things right down there. >> a youngster at alabama, start getting the quarterback out and throwing it around the backyard with pop. >> so many thoughts. i was going to say -- so sorry. many people thought that the 73-year-old comments were a little over the top. in fact, one former football analyst tweeted this. brent musberger talking about the girlfriend like he's looking at her through a hotel room peephole. but the spotlight was turned -- goodness. roll it back down. i lost my spot. the spotlight turned webb in to a celebrity and starting to trend in the game and has amassed more than 100,000 twitter followers since the beauty queen had her big moment. tmz says that she's spoken to them and flattered by the comments. and doesn't think that they were creepy at all. i'm sorry. i'm crying now because that's so funny. so what did your gut tell you? obviously i think it's funny because funny can be creepy. did he cross the line? and all you alabama boys, hope you're in the backyard throwing the football to get a girlfriend. go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast your vote and that does it for this serious edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. 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>>> let me finish with this. the big story tonight is the pthd's nominationofchuckhagel. ithink the fairest thing to do is to give this nomination a solid chance. let's see if he's the kind of person to give this enormous responsibility. personally, i think the attacks on him have been pushed hard by the right wing. he's restrained, skeptical. i am to like him for this reason, like dwight eisenhower. hagel knows the reality of war, not from the top but from the mud level. the g.i.s have to do the actual fighting. so when you watch the hearings, think of the americans out there on post tonight all alone in a place far from home. give some thought to the possibility they'd like to have a pentagon chief who knows just what that's like. and that's "hardball for now," thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris. and thanks to you fr tuning in. tonight's lead show down over defense. today, the president officially nominated his choice for defense secretary. vietnam veteran and former gop senator chuck hagel of nebraska. already, repu

chuckhagel'snominationfor secretary of defense, a former senator praised by republicans. so what will the knee jerk reaction be to this? i'm going to say optimistic and hope they'll do the right thing. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> hagel for defense chief. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. let me start tonight with president obama. this country's commander in chief. start with that fact, will you? he's done a pretty good job of doing it, don't you think? well, the commander in chief said today he wants a former veelt nam enlisted guy to be his secretary of defense. a guy who can't walk through the airport metal detector and not get reminded of the shrapnel he took. the president wants chuck hagel to be in that position. hagel long ago proved he's got the harlt. i do recognize their tactics. they're the same ones they used to push the war in iraq. they say they don't like something he said, hagel did, 14 years ago about a gay man being put up for ambassador. i don't like it either, but, a, it was 14 years ago, and, b, i don't think it

. we will look it the nomination for republicansenatorchuckhagel, fellowrepublicans have criticized him for views on iraq, iran, and israel. then, the steubenville rape case in ohio. >> we are anonymous. around mid august 2012, a party to present a small town in ohio known as steubenville. [indiscernible] kidnapping and rape of a 15- year-old girl. >> the hacker activist group anonymous has helped expose new details about a horrific high school gang rape case involving football players in ohio. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. up to 18 people have been killed in the latest u.s. drone attacks on pakistan's tribal areas. the strikes hit what pakistani officials described as separate compounds belonging to the pakistani taliban in south missouri stan. the taliban commander was reportedly among the dead. the ongoing drone attacks come days after a federal judge ruled the obama administration is under no obligation to publicly disclose their legal justification. the american civil liberties u

ways than one. he has chosen former republicansenatorchuckhagelassecretaryofdefense.hagelwouldbe a controversial pick. he advocates negotiating with iran and some question how strongly he supports israel. one pro israel group is running an ad against hagel. >> president obama, for secretary of defense, chuck hagel is not a responsible option. even the top senate republican says he is reserving judgment. >> i am going to wait and see how the hearings go and see whether chuck's views square with the job he would be nominated to do. >> some democrats are speaking up for him. >> chuck hagel is a tremendous patriot and statesman. served incredibly in vietnam. served this country as the united states senator. >> reporter: president obama is about to lose his treasury secretary. tim geithner is the last original member of the president's economic team. he leaves as three major deadlines loom. by end of february, the treasury will lose the power to borrow more to pay america's bills. across the board spending cuts to every federal program kick in on march 1. the government will run ou

nominates formersenatorchuckhageltothe security advisor and john brennan as head of the cia. >> the president of the united states, leon panetta, chuck hagel, and mr. le john brennan. >> as president and commander in chief, my most solemn obligation is the security of the american people. we have met that responsibility. by ending the war in iraq, a transition to afghanistan, and decimating the al qaeda core, and taking out osama bin laden. by disrupting terrorist plots, saving countless american lives. among an outstanding team i am especially grateful to leon panetta who has lead the cia and our military. you have more than earned the right to return to civilian life. i have much more to say about his distinguished service in the days ahead. today i want to convey the eternal gratitude. thank you so much. i also want to thank michael who has earned the admiration of all of us who have worked with them all will across the government and here in the white house. in moments of transition he has guided the cia with a steady hand as acting director not once but twice. he is a consummat

picking thisfight.hagelhasa lot of opposition on the right. why does hewantchuckhagelforthe job? >> part of it now is a manhood thing. he can't be ruled second national security pick after susan was out there described as a presidential favorite, he went ahead and made a different choice for secretary of state going with john kerry. democrats are unhappy because of some of the gay comments, some of the democrats in the senate now didn't serve with him and so are on the fence. a top senate democratic official said to me, a path exists for him to be confirmed when you're with the president's party. but they say, he has a lot of explaining to do and the white house has a lot of work to do if republicans impose hagel enmasse. they can't count on the 51 democratic votes. >> this confirmation fight threatens because of the prominence of the job to become a big part of the january/february narrative, does this hurt the president moving forward? >> it certainly does. mark, on time.com, you make the point that he's likely to be confirmed if he does well in the hearings at great cost.

senatorchuckhagel. theannouncement could come as early as tomorrow. one senator already calling this an in your face move. david kerley is at the white house tonight. >> reporter: as the president returns from hawaii, senior fishlgs tell abc news he will nominate former republican senator has chuck hagel as the next secretary of defense. >> chuck hagel is out of the mainstream of thinking, i believe, on most issues regarding foreign policy. >> reporter: today republicans raised red flags, continuing a campaign against chuck hagel. >> chuck hagel is not a responsible option. >> reporter: democrats too have been cold to hagel, a social conservative. republicans complain about his stand on affingts afghanistan -- that we went beyond our mission. and his opposition to the surge in iraq, saying it -- >> represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since vietnam if it's carried out. >> reporter: but it was a comment about israel and what he called the jewish lobby which intimidates capitol hill that angered many. >> this is an in your face nomination by the presiden

. they clearly leaked that announcement to take the heat offthechuckhagelkerfuffle.in washington, no one's talking about it, though. they're talking about rg3. >> do you think it's going to happen for chuck hagel? >> yes, i do. it's going to be a spirited confirmation process, but i think it will happen. >> cnn newsroom with carol costello begins now. we'll see everyone else back here tomorrow morning. sorry. next time, charles. good morning, carol. >> good morning. thanks a lot. >>> here's what's happening in the newsroom. a war hero and washington politics. former senator chuck hagel may need the war survival skills as one-time allies rally against his pending nomination as defense secretary. >> my wife is a hero. she protected her kids. she did what she was supposed to do as a responsible, prepared gun owner. >>> a georgia man praising his wife after she fought back against an intruder. gun rights advocates say we told you so. >>> rg3 down and out. the redskins have replaced their franchise quarterback long before his knee buckled? "newsroom" starts now. >>> good morning to yo

heroic american war. the presidentwantschuckhagelinthat post because he thinks like him and has proven he's got the brains to protect this country. hagel long ago proved he's got the heart. don't you think? i don't hate the people trying to stop the president from picking this guy for the job he needs done at the pentagon, but i do recognize their tactics. they're the same ones they used to push the war in iraq. they say they don't like something he said, hagel did, 14 years ago about a gay man being put up for ambassador. i don't like it either, but, a, it was 14 years ago, and, b, i don't think it's got anything to do with why the hawks are opposing him. since when is the right wing of this country so caring for gay rights? as bill clinton would say, give me a break. and this isn't about israel's security any more than it's about ours. the right wants a hawk at defense for all occasions. someone with an itchy trigger finger who has always got a country lined up to go to war with, iraq, afghanistan, iraq again, libya, syria, iran. sorry, the guy you lined up to be president wou

president obama's nomination last week, a week ago today when henominatedchuckhagelashis next secretary of defense. that dominated the sunday talk shows. before we get into it, the one who made the most headlines on this, not john mccain. the idea that every sunday talk show feels that they have to book john mccain every sunday is -- i am so sick of it. common. you know he will say something crazy but he is crazy. why keep booking him. >> for sure. >> so didn't make any news yesterday. the one who did was colin powell. first of all, who former secretary of state, former chairman of the joint chiefs who said that -- he came out very, very strongly in defense of senator haggel. >> people say that doesn't necessarily make him a good candidate for secretary of defense. i will tell you who thinks that makes him a good candidate for secretary of defense, the men and women in the armed forces of the united states and their parents. >> meaning, of course he will be the first enlisted man to serve as secretary of defense. and one of the few wounded in wartime and in combat to the serve

the day. >>> president obama plans to nominate former nebraskasenatorchuckhagelasthe next secretary of defense. reaction is already pouring in, some positive, some not. we'll have much more on the story in a moment. >>> pakistani intelligence officials say a suspected u.s. drone strike killed 17 people today. today's attack follows two suspected u.s. drone strikes last week that killed 15 people, including a taliban commander with ties to the pakistani military. demonstrators protested against drone strikes thursday and burned a u.s. flag. >>> parents in new york are on edge tonight waiting to hear if their children will have to find other ways to get to school tomorrow morning. the union representing the city's school bus drivers is threatening to strike in a dispute over job protection. they're concerned about a new bus contract that could mean some drivers would lose their jobs. if there is a walkout the city will provide some bus riders with free metro cards to ride public transit. in other cases, parents can apply for public transit refunds if they send their children

. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ]>>chuckhagelforsecretary of defense.>>chuckhagelwillhave a fight for confirmation. >> the leader our troops deserve. >> the most antagonistic, it is very difficult to imagine the circumstance in which i could support in confirmation. >> yes, he is a serious candidate. >> chuck haig settle not a responsible option. >> he has people going against him. >> john brennan for direct of the central intelligence agency. >> while i consider myself neither a republican or democrat democrat. >> brennan has a little bit of baggage to become c.i.a. >> i think the president likes the idea of an antagonistic nomination. >> he chose petraeus because he resigned in the wake of the sex scandal into well, as you saw chuck hagel former republican senator from nebraska, nominated to be secretary of defense today by the president himself. let's watch. >> obama: chuck hagel is the leader that our troops deserve. he is an an american patriot. he volunteered for the army and vietnam. he represents the bipartisanship that we need more of in washington. for his independence and c

hagelatthe top spot. the obama's administration's baitle plan is beginning to take shape.>>chuckhagelis the leader that our troops deserve. he is an american patriot. he enlisted in the army and volunteered for vietnam. to this day chuck bears the scars and shrapnel from battles he fought in our name. >> hagel himself, the former senator defending his own record in a exclusive interview with his hometown newspaper, telling "lincoln general star" the distortions of my record have been astounding. will the white house make the sell on capitol hill? a place where even senators in the president's own party remain divided on this pick. >> i believe the president should be able to have his team, but the advice and consent of the senate is an important responsibility and we have to do independently and there are questions that need to be answered. >> chuck hagel is his own man. he wears no man's collar. he will continue to be his own man. that is the kind of person you want as secretary of state when you're in the room deciding about war and peace, you want somebody to give their hone

today. one is secretary defense. he nominated formersenatorchuckhagel. theother c.i.a. director, he nominated counterterrorism expert at the white house john brennan. we'll talk about both of them with david sanger of the "new york times" and mark halperin of "time" magazine. >> both mr. brennan and chuck hagel are coming in at exactly the moment when the light footprint strategy has begun to hit some real resistance. the u.s. has not figured out how to intervene in syria in an effective way. it's obviously run into some difficulties in the end of its cyber campaign for now in iran or at least we think it has. so the question is whether or not these two men working together can sort of forge some very new and different ways. >> one of the reasons people have liked chuck hagel over the years, a lot of reasons reporters like him, a lot of reasons his supporters like him is he's a free-speaking guy. he's iconoclastic. he's willing to say things and think about things in a way that's outside not just party orthodoxy but out of the mainstream foreign policy establishment. >> rose: we con

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